Margaret Lea Houston (April 11, 1819 – December 3, 1867) was First Lady of the Republic of Texas, First Lady of the state of Texas, and a founding member of Concord Baptist Church in Grand Cane. She was a poet and an accomplished musician. Her influence on husband Sam Houston persuaded him to give up alcohol and profane language. Margaret gave birth inside the governor's mansion to the youngest of their eight children, as angry mobs gathered outside in response to her husband's opposition to Texas signing the Ordinance of Secession of the Civil War. He was removed from office for refusing to swear loyalty to the Confederacy. Their eldest son joined the Confederate army and was left for dead on the battlefield at Shiloh, saved by a Union Army clergyman who found a Bible from Margaret in his pocket. Sam Houston died of illness before the end of the war, as Margaret sat by his bed reading to him from the 23rd Psalm. She became the keeper of his legacy and opened his records to a trusted biographer. When she died of yellow fever, Margaret could not be buried with her husband in a public cemetery for fear of contamination, and was instead interred on private family property.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Lea_Houston

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1544:

Italian War of 1542–46: French and Spanish forces fought a massive pitched battle in the Piedmont region of Italy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ceresole

1814:

The Treaty of Fontainebleau was signed, ending the War of the Sixth Coalition, and forcing Napoleon to abdicate as ruler of France and sending him into exile on Elba. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Fontainebleau_(1814)

1908:

Blücher, the last armored cruiser built by the Imperial German Navy, was launched. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Bl%C3%BCcher

1921:

Emir Abdullah established the first centralised government in the recently created British protectorate of Transjordan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirate_of_Transjordan

2002:

In a coup attempt, members of the Venezuelan military detained President Hugo Chávez and demanded his resignation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Venezuelan_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat_attempt

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

usufruct: (law) The legal right to use and derive profit or benefit from property that belongs to another person, as long as the property is not damaged. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/usufruct

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Jokes can be noble. Laughs are exactly as honorable as tears. Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion, to the futility of thinking and striving anymore. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward — and since I can start thinking and striving again that much sooner.   --Kurt Vonnegut https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut